Swift



w. c. KEYWORTH. SWIFT.

APPLICATION FILED IULY29| 1920- 1,408,745. Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR, wnmm ChfleYw d l A TTOR/VEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WILLIAM C. KEYWORTH, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

SWIFT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar, '7, 1922.

originalapplication filed October 7, 1919, Serial No. 329,100. Divided and this application filed. July 29,

' 1920. Serial No. 399,876. i s

d To all whom it may concern siding at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Swifts, of which the following is a specification. r

This application constitutes a division of my application Serial No. 329,100, filed October 7, 1919.

This invention relates to swifts for winding machines, and one part of the invention has to do with the means to impose a drag or resistance to the rotation of the swift under the pull of the thread or yarn, and another part has to do with the means for maintaining the skein properly distended during the rotation of the swift. According to the first part of my invention the usual strap-like device having a pendent weight and made to embrace the hub or other axial part of the swift is eliminated because it found to act without uniformity, being especially susceptible to change in'humidity of the atmosphere, and instead the swift is provided with braking means which is more uniform in action and possesses certain other advantages which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As to the other part of my invention the object is to provide a swift whose skein supports are movable inwardly toward the hub to permit the application of the skein thereto and when in action are held outwardly to keep the skein distended, and in such manner, moreover, that while the distending ef fect obtains from start to finish of the unwinding it will be reduced and may be made not excessive toward the finish, when the coils or windings are few and they might otherwise be disrupted. Swifts having inwardly movable skein supports are known, and itis also known to employ springs to hold the skein supports pressed outwardly; in such swifts provision is also made for stops to limit the outward movement of the skein supports, not only to maintain the parts in assembly but to prevent the pressure of the springs, when employed, or centrifugal force, or both, from being active when the last coils or windings, only, re

main on the swift and breakage thereof would result if the distending action continued. But when this is done the lastwindings (the remainder of the skein'having been paid out) are not distended and therefore not under tension, which is undesirable. According to this invention, the 'skein sup port being movable between certain inward and outward limits and adapted to move outward under centrifugal force, means are provided to exert outwardpressure thereon which is active (the swift being in rotation) when the sup'portis disposed inward, and inactive when it isdisposedoutward, of a given position; this means in one pracs tical adaptation of my invention which is herein set forth comprehends an outwardly movable thrust element, as a spoke, and both the force of a spring and centrifugalforce to produce said pressure against the skein support, the force of the spring having ex: pended itself (by the spring coming to a state of rest), and the centrifugal force be ing limited by a stop against which the thrust element comes to bear, when the skein support is outward of the position indicated.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure l is a side elevation of the improved swift; I ,1 I

Figure 2 is an elevation vie'wingrthe swift at right angles to its axis, certainpartsappearing in section; r Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33, Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows a detail illustrated in Figures 2 and 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the skein support; and 7 Figure 6 is a sectionalview on the line 6-6, Figure 2.

The center part of the swift includes a hub. generally designated by the character a, and radial tubular sockets b having longitudinal slots 0 which form stops (Z at their outer ends. Spokes or equivalent thrust ele ments are arranged so as to be movable inwardly and outwardly in the sockets, each including a shank e and a-forked end portion f and having a key g which limits the outward movement of the spoke by abutting the stop cZ. By means of a spring 7:, (Figure 1) which is assumed to be in a state top of Figure 2, say from the catedby the arrow A in said 60 T pelling the skein supports outwardly when 2, the position in of rest, orfully extended, in said figure,

when the spoke is pressed in and then released it will be returned outwardly; this spring is intended primarily to return the spoke to its outward position when it has been pressed inwardly to allow the skein to be adjusted to theswift, and it also coacts with centrifugal force when the skein is firstapplied to the swift and is therefore so full that it holds the spoke pressed back somewhat. Each skein support is pref erably a strip 2' of light material, such as aluminum, serrated on its skein-contact surface and' having holes j which receivethe' ends of the fork 'f and having relatively to said fork inward and outward movement limited by the body of the latter and the pins 70. The entire range of movement of the skein support is from. some posltion more or less inward of that shown at the position indifigure, to the position where it abuts the pins 70, indicated by the arrow C; in the position of the sham support indicated by the arrow B in Figure top of Figure 2, it will be apparent that with windings on the swift and the swift 1n rotation neither the force ofthe spring nor centrifugal force acting on the spoke will be transmitted to the skein support, because the spring is in a state of rest and the spoke is limited against further outward move ment by the stop d. r

Theskein to be applied to the improved swift is formed of such diameter that, though it will hold the spokes pressed back somewhat at the start of the unwinding,

being full, toward the end thereof and when the skein becomes thin and danger of breakage thereof is possible, it no longer assumes the outward pressure of the spokes because its effective diameter is then greater than that indicated by the arrow B, the position of the skein supports where the thrust elements constituted by the spokes cease to be outwardly effective thereon. Thereafter,

' andas to the remaining or said thin part of the skein, centrifugal force acting on the skein supports, alone, holds them pressed outwardly against the skein, thus preserving it in a state of distention and consequent tension.

The skein: supports are free to move not only outwardly but inwardly under thelr' own weight, whereinthere is a considerable advantage over skein supports outwardly held by springs (of course attended also by centrifugal force when the swift is in rotation) in that the force (centrifugal) imthe swift is rotating is constant in character. Moreover, thefholes being fairly commodious, each skeinsupport is capable of tilti'ng endwise and sidewise, sothat' it can adwhich it is shown at the Letters Patent is just itself to the skein and will yield to facilitate. the'release of a winding undercrossed with respect to others. So far as I am aware, movable skein supports in swifts have had their movability confined to rectilineal paths heretofore.

,The hub 0; includes an enlarged center part Z, an integral conical boss m at one side and an integral shaft aat the other side the hubbeing preferably formedof wood; there are trunnions ain the bossand shaft,

which latter it will be understood keep the swift against axial movement by abutting the bearings for the trunnions. A sleeve 0,

preferably of wood (so as to afford a woodto-wood contact), having a bore 19 of somewhat greater diameter than the shaft, is fitted over the latter, and its inner end is sheathed in a circular groove q in the side of center part Z so that loose. threads cannot interpose themselves between said sleeve and byia screw or key? engaged in a peripheral groove 3 in the shaft. The sleeve has a ra? dial hole t in which is a U-shaped eye a carrying the'weightw, the eye havingits free ends bent off in opposite directions so as to the center part; the sleeve is'kept in place support it and being removable after re:

moving the weight, and the sleeve from the shaft) by pushing it back into the bore of the sleeve. V

Having thus fully described my invention, whatl claim as new and 1. A swift having a skein support and also means to exert a pressure thrust outwardly from the axis of the swift and against the skem support, said means having the extent of its said pressure thrust limited and the skein support being movable inwardly toward, and also outwardlyfrom, said axis desire to secure by and past the limit of said pressure thrust of said means. 7 l,

2. A-sw1ft havlng a skein support, means 7 to exert a pressure thrust outwardly from the axis ofthe swift and against the skein support, and a stop" for said means tolimit its said pressure thrust, said skein support being inovable inwardly toward, and also outwardly from, said axis and. past thelimit afforded by said stop.

3. A swift having a skein support,;means including a spring to exert a pressure thrust outwardly from the axis of the swift and against the skein support, and: a stop for said'ineans to limit its said pressure thrust, said skein support being movable inwardly toward, and alsooutwardly from, said axis and past the limit afforded by said stop.

at. A swift having a spoke movable and normally forced outwardly toa given limit when the swift. is in rotation, and having a outwardly on said. spoke. r

5. A swift having a loose skein support .skein support arranged and freely movable movable inwardly and outwardly therein projecting portions and a loose skein supwith equal freedom. port connecting said portions and having 6. A swift having a loose skein support openings loosely receiving the same and be- 10 movable inwardly and outwardly therein ing movable inwardly and outwardly on 5 with equal freedom and capable of tilting said spokes with equal freedom. 7

therein. In testimony whereof I aifix my si nature.

7. A swift having a plurality of outward WILLIAM C. KEYWO TH. 

